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This randomized phase III trial compares how well combination chemotherapy works when given with or without bortezomib in treating patients with newly diagnosed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia or stage II-IV T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. Bortezomib may help reduce the number of leukemia or lymphoma cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. It may also help chemotherapy work better by making cancer cells more sensitive to the drugs. It is not yet known if giving standard chemotherapy with or without bortezomib is more effective in treating T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma.

I. To determine the safety and feasibility of modifying standard therapy for T-ALL and T-LLy based on the results of UKALL 2003, which includes a dexamethasone-based induction, additional doses of pegaspargase (PEG-ASP) during induction and delayed intensification (DI), and dexamethasone pulses during maintenance therapy.

II. To determine if prophylactic (presymptomatic) cranial radiation therapy (CRT) can be safely and effectively eliminated in the 85-90% of T-ALL patients classified as standard or intermediate risk.

III. To determine the proportion of end of consolidation (EOC) minimal residual disease (MRD) >= 0.1% T-ALL patients who become MRD negative (undetectable by flow cytometry) after intensification of chemotherapy, using three high risk (HR) BFM blocks, and to compare EFS between the patients who become MRD negative after the three HR BFM blocks and continue on chemotherapy with those who continue to have detectable MRD and are eligible for other treatment strategies, including hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Similarly, to compare the EFS between very high risk (induction failure) T-LLy patients treated with HR BFM intensification blocks who have partial or complete response (PR or CR) with those who do not respond (NR).

TERTIARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To investigate the prognostic significance of day 29 bone marrow (BM) MRD in T-LLy patients.

II. To determine if protein expression patterns can predict bortezomib response and drug resistance in T-ALL.

INDUCTION ARM A: Patients receive cytarabine intrathecally (IT) at time of diagnostic lumbar puncture (if within 72 hours from start of protocol therapy) OR day 1; vincristine sulfate intravenously (IV) over 1 minute on days 1, 8, 15, and 22; dexamethasone orally (PO) twice daily (BID) on days 1-28 (no taper); daunorubicin hydrochloride IV over 1-15 minutes on days 1, 8, 15, and 22; pegaspargase IV over 1-2 hours on days 4 and 18; and methotrexate IT on days 8 and 29 (and on days 15 and 22 for central nervous system 3 involvement [CNS3] T-ALL patients).

CONSOLIDATION: Beginning on day 36 from Induction, patients receive methotrexate IT on days 1, 8, 15, and 22 (days 1 and 8 only for CNS3 T-ALL or CNS3 T-LLy patients); cyclophosphamide IV over 30-60 minutes on days 1 and 29; cytarabine IV over 1-30 minutes or subcutaneously (SC) on days 1-4, 8-11, 29-32, and 36-39; mercaptopurine PO once daily (QD) on days 1-14 and 29-42; pegaspargase IV over 1-2 hours on days 15 and 43; and vincristine sulfate IV on days 15, 22, 43, and 50. Patients with persistent testicular disease undergo radiation therapy.

CMTX INTERIM MAINTENANCE: Patients receive vincristine sulfate IV over 1 minute on days 1, 11, 21, 31, and 41; methotrexate IV over 2-5 minutes (undiluted) or 10-15 minutes (diluted) on days 1, 11, 21, 31, and 41; pegaspargase IV over 1-2 hours on days 2 and 22; and methotrexate IT on days 1 and 31. The next course (based on risk assignment) begins on day 57 or when blood counts recover (whichever occurs later).

DELAYED INTENSIFICATION ARM A: Patients receive vincristine sulfate IV over 1 minute on days 1, 8, 15, 43, and 50; dexamethasone PO BID or IV on days 1-7 and 15-21; doxorubicin hydrochloride IV over 15 minutes on days, 1, 8, and 15; pegaspargase IV over 1-2 hours on days 4, 18, and 43; methotrexate IT on days 1, 29, and 36; cyclophosphamide IV over 30-60 minutes on day 29; cytarabine IV over 1-30 minutes or SC on days 29-32 and 36-39; and thioguanine PO on days 29-42. The next course (based on risk assignment) begins on day 64 or when blood counts recover (whichever occurs later).

HDMTX INTERIM MAINTENANCE: Patients receive high-dose methotrexate IV over 24 hours on days 1, 15, 29, and 43; leucovorin calcium IV or PO on days 3-4, 17-18, 31-32, and 45-46; vincristine sulfate IV on days 1, 15, 29, and 43; mercaptopurine PO QD on days 1-56; and methotrexate IT on days 1 and 29. The next course (based on randomization assignment) begins on day 57 or when blood counts recover (whichever occurs later).

INTENSIFICATION BLOCK I: Patients receive dexamethasone IV or PO BID on days 1-5; high-dose methotrexate IV over 24 hours on day 1; leucovorin calcium IV or PO on days 3-4; vincristine sulfate IV on days 1 and 6; cyclophosphamide IV over 1-6 hours on days 2-4; high-dose cytarabine IV over 3 hours every 12 hours on day 5; pegaspargase IV over 1-2 hours on day 6; and triple IT therapy comprising methotrexate IT, hydrocortisone IT, and cytarabine IT on day 1. The next course (Intensification Block II) begins on day 22 or when blood counts recover (whichever occurs later).

INTENSIFICATION BLOCK II: Patients receive dexamethasone PO BID or IV on days 1-5; high-dose methotrexate IV over 24 hours on day 1; leucovorin calcium PO or IV on days 3-4; vincristine sulfate IV on days 1 and 6; ifosfamide IV over 1 hour every 12 hours on days 2-4; daunorubicin hydrochloride IV over 30 minutes on day 5; pegaspargase IV over 1-2 hours on day 6; and triple IT therapy on day 1 as in Intensification Block I. The next course (Intensification Block III) begins on day 22 or when blood counts recover (whichever occurs later).

INTENSIFICATION BLOCK III: Patients receive dexamethasone PO BID or IV on days 1-5; high-dose cytarabine IV over 3 hours every 12 hours on days 1-2; etoposide IV over 1-2 hours every 12 hours on days 3-5; pegaspargase IV over 1-2 hours on day 6; and triple IT therapy on day 5 as in Intensification Block I. The next course (based on randomization) begins on day 22 or when blood counts recover (whichever occurs later).

MAINTENANCE THERAPY: All patients receive vincristine sulfate IV on days 1, 29, and 57; dexamethasone PO BID or IV on days 1-5, 29-33, and 57-61; mercaptopurine PO on days 1-84; methotrexate PO on days 8, 15, 22, 29, 36, 43, 50, 57, 64, 71, and 78 (omit day 29 for SR patients during the first 4 courses); methotrexate IT on day 1 (and day 29 during the first 4 courses for SR patients and during the first 2 courses for IR patients). Patients with CNS3 IR disease also undergo cranial radiation therapy during the first 4 weeks (course 1). Treatment in female patients with T-ALL and patients with T-LLY repeats every 12 weeks for up to 2 years from the start of Interim Maintenance (week 119). Treatment in male patients with T-ALL repeats every 12 weeks for up to 3 years from the start of Interim Maintenance (week 171).

All treatment continues in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up periodically for up to 10 years.

Compared for isolated CNS, isolated bone marrow, and combined bone marrow relapse between IR patients on the non-bortezomib containing arm on this study (no CRT) with similar patients on AALL0434 (+ CRT).

Incidence of toxicity associated with modified standard therapy, including dexamethasone and additional pegaspargase as graded by the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0 [ Time Frame: Up to 10 years ]

Safety data will also be compared between the two arms.

EFS between very high risk (VHR) T-ALL patients treated with high risk (HR) Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) intensification blocks who become minimal residual disease (MRD) negative and those who remain MRD positive at the end of HR Block 3 [ Time Frame: Up to 10 years ]

The proportion of VHR T-ALL patients with end of consolidation (EOC) MRD >= 0.1% who become MRD negative (MRD undetectable) after the three high-risk BFM blocks of therapy, will be estimated. EFS for these patients (who continue on chemotherapy) will be compared with those who continue to have detectable MRD and who may receive other treatment options including hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Comparison will be descriptive.

EFS between very high risk (VHR) T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LLy) patients treated with HR Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) intensification blocks who have partial remission or complete remission with those who do not respond [ Time Frame: Up to 10 years ]

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Ages Eligible for Study:

2 Years to 30 Years (Child, Adult)

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

T-ALL: T-ALL patients must be enrolled on AALL08B1 or Project:EveryChild (APEC14B1, if open for the classification of ALL patients) prior to treatment and enrollment on AALL1231

Note: a diagnosis of T-ALL is established when leukemic blasts lack myeloperoxidase or evidence of B-lineage derivation (cluster of differentiation [CD]19/CD22/CD20), and express either surface or cytoplasmic CD3 or two or more of the antigens CD8, CD7, CD5, CD4, CD2 or CD1a, and are present either in peripheral blood or > 25% in the bone marrow; if surface CD3 is expressed on all leukemic cells, additional markers of immaturity, including terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT), CD34 or CD99 will be assessed for expression; cases with uncertain expression will receive additional review within the appropriate Children's Oncology Group (COG) reference laboratory

For T-LLy patients with tissue available for flow cytometry, the criterion for diagnosis should be analogous to T-ALL; for tissue processed by other means (i.e. paraffin blocks), the methodology and criteria for immunophenotypic analysis to establish the diagnosis of T-LLy defined by the submitting institution will be accepted

All patients and/or their parents or legal guardians must sign a written informed consent; assent, when appropriate, will be obtained according to institutional guidelines

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients must not have received any cytotoxic chemotherapy for either the current diagnosis of T-ALL, T-L-Ly or for any cancer diagnosis prior to the initiation of protocol therapy on AALL1231, with the exception of:

Steroid pretreatment: prednisone or methylprednisolone for =< 120 hours (5 days) in the 7 days prior to initiating induction chemotherapy or for =< 336 hours (14 days) in the 28 days prior to initiating induction chemotherapy; prior exposure to ANY steroids that occurred > 28 days before the initiation of protocol therapy does not affect eligibility; the dose of prednisone or methylprednisolone does not affect eligibility

Intrathecal cytarabine (the CNS status must be determined based on a sample obtained prior to administration of any systemic or intrathecal chemotherapy, except for steroid pretreatment) system chemotherapy must begin with 72 hours of this IT therapy; or

600 cGy of chest irradiation, if medically necessary

Pre-treatment with dexamethasone in the 28 days prior to initiation of protocol therapy is not allowed with the exception of a single dose of dexamethasone use during sedation to prevent or treat airway edema; inhalation steroids and topical steroids are not considered pretreatment

Pre-existing >= grade 2 sensory or motor peripheral neurotoxicity

Uncontrolled seizure disorder

Diagnosis of Down syndrome (Trisomy 21)

Patients who are pregnant; a pregnancy test is required for female patients of childbearing potential

Lactating females who plan to breastfeed

Sexually active patients of reproductive potential who have not agreed to use an effective contraceptive method for the duration of their study participation

Patient has hypersensitivity to bortezomib, boron, or mannitol

Serious medical or psychiatric illness likely to interfere with participation in this clinical study

Participation in clinical trials with other investigational agents not included in this trial, within 14 days of the start of this trial and within 30 days of any dose of bortezomib